UEFA Club Competitions Reaches the Group Stage

The UEFA club’s major competitions reached the group stage. Monaco hosted the group draw for Champions League (UCL) and Europa League (UEL), the two club’s soccer most important competitions in Europe, on Aug. 25-26, 2016.

Champions League

The 2016-17 UEFA Champions League is the 62nd season of Europe’s club’s main tournament, previously called the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. Real Madrid CF is the defending champion, after winning against Atlético Madrid, in the final held at the San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy.

The current season started with the qualifying phase on June 20, 2016, while the final will take place at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on June 3, 2017. The club’s major competition reached the group stage on August 25, with the draw, but the matches will take place from September 13 until December 7.

32 teams, of which two crews make their debut appearances in UCL, are split into eight groups:

16 teams will qualify for the knockout phase, while the eight third-placed crews will play in the UEL’s round of 32.

Europa League

The 2016-17 UEFA Europa League is the 46th season of Europe’s club’s soccer secondary tournament, previously called the UEFA Cup. Sevilla FC is the title holder, after defeating Liverpool, at the St. Jakob-Park Stadium, in Basel, Switzerland.

The current season started with the qualifying phase on June 20, 2016, and the final will take place at the Friends Arena in Solna, Sweden, on May 24, 2017. The club competition reached the group stage on August 26, with the draw, while the matches will take place from September 15 until December 8.

48 teams, of which 13 crews make their debut appearances in UEL, are split into 12 groups:

24 teams will qualify for the knockout phase, along with the eight third-placed crews from the UEFA Champions League’s groups.

UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League are the club’s soccer most important tournaments in Europe. Every year, over 100 teams engage in the competitions, fighting for the European trophies.

Also, the winners of UCL and UEL compete for the UEFA Super Cup. This season, the match between the best two continental teams will take place at the Philip II Arena, in Skopje, Macedonia, on Aug. 8, 2017.